Taking a Risk Neji Oneshot
by Kayenvy
Summary: Oneshot for Neji.


Taking a Risk [Neji Oneshot]

The petals were a shade of stunning red, a droplet of dew sparkled on the surface of one petal and I reached out, transferring it to my finger. I placed the droplet on my tongue. It tasted faintly sweet but a rich bitterness cancelled out the flavour.

I smiled. The rose was beautiful both in it's appearance and it's symbolism. _Love..._ an emotion that many strive to achieve and yet in the world of the shinobi, is seen as a distraction, a weakness. But people were beginning to change.

In Konoha, the forth Hokage was hailed as a hero. He died saving the village from a monstrous demon. Not many people know this, only those that were alive during the Demon Fox's assault, but the Yondaime saved the village by sealing the demon into a newborn baby's body. Naruto's body.

Th adults of this village feared Naruto and he grew up alone and unwanted. They passed their fear onto their children and Naruto was shunned by everybody. Who would have thought that the demon fox's host would grow up to change the hearts of so many people, including me?

Maybe love was actually possible in my world now, maybe, just maybe, shinobi can coincide with emotions instead of fighting them. I sighed, _maybe_.

I reached for the rose, to stroke it's smooth petal's once more, pain spiked through my finger and I gasped. I yanked back my hand and slowly opened my fist. A drop of blood was forming on the tip of my finger.

"It was inevitable," the voice was smooth and commanding, a strong masculine voice. A while ago I would have called it arrogant, but so much has changed since then.

"Neji," I gasped. I spun to the side, facing him, my body tense, on edge. He leant casually against a large oak tree. His tall form was covered by the tree's half cast shadow.

His pure white eyes locked onto mine and my stomach lurched. A slight breeze caught his long brown hair and fanned it out behind him. I felt like a mouse staring into the predatory eyes of a snake, paralysed, unable to escape even as it's life is ebbing away.

"That is the fate of the rose," he said. The forest was unnaturally silent as if it could sense the presence of the Hyuuga prodigy.

"The fate of the rose?" I asked. The drop on the tip of my finger shook, nearly spilling over the edge.

"It's exquisite beauty attracts, but whenever anyone gets close enough to touch it," Neji shrugged himself off the tree and stepped out of the shadows. The light flashed in his all-seeing eyes and a sudden compulsion to run seized my body, but I stayed, entranced.

"They always, without fail, get hurt," said Neji Hyuuga. He stared at me across the clearing, his gaze unwavering.

The first time I saw Neji Hyuuga I had an instant dislike for him. He was arrogant and cruel and even treated his own team mates terribly. However, his presence would turn my head, grabbing my attention and even though everything else changed, this one thing had grown.

"That maybe so," I said. The droplet of blood rolled down my finger but I ignored it. "But sometimes you just have to risk being hurt." I took a step forward. "Some things are worth the pain."

Neji's head tilted slightly but his face remained blank, expressionless. I could feel his eyes surveying me and even though his Byakugan was inactive, it was like he was looking right into my soul.

"Neji?" I whispered.

The Hyuuga broke eye contact and strode gracefully across the clearing. He stopped in front of the rose bush, his gaze resting on the rose I had pricked my finger reaching for. He stooped down, with one knee down and the other raised. Neji extended his left arm, his fingers curled around the stem of the rose and his right hand slipped into his kunai holster.

'Neji?' my lips formed the beautiful Hyuuga's name but no sound escaped.

He clenched his bare hand around the stem, ignoring the thorns all along it and puled a kunai out, cutting the stalk below his hand. My heart thumped rapidly. Neji holstered his sharp throwing knife and stood in one swift movement. His intense eyes fell on me and he took a step, closing the distance between us.

"You might be correct," said the Hyuuga. He raised the hand holding the rose, blood dripped down his wrist from the cuts the thorns undoubtedly made. "Sometimes it _is_ necessary." Neji's lips twitched upwards, forming a small smile. "Shall we take the risk together?"


End file.
